La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of June 24- July 1, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO FISHING REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Enrique was the first big storm of the season. It started as a hurricane, but thankfully petered to a tropical storm by the time it hit La Paz.
Enrique did alot more damage to the south of us along mainland Mexico. By the time it hit La Paz it was alot milder.
By the time Enrique hit La Paz it had lost of of it’s force, but enough to bring several days of strong winds.
…and enough rain to get things wet and lose electrical power in La Paz for a few hours.
We launch our Las Arenas boats in Bahia Muertos / Suenos and this is what it normally looks like 99% of the time.
This is what Bahia Muertos looked like several days this week as a result of Enrique.
Our Utah amigo, Jason Kocherans makes a great photo of this great roosterfish caught just off the beach at Las Arenas. The Arenas lighthouse is in the distance. The fish was released.
Captain Victor with Brian Tippie with his uncle Ron Tippie who came all the way from Illinois and started their fishing week with a trio of bull dorado.
Our long-time Tailhunter amigo, Terry Biggs from northern California with a nice cabrilla to put in the fish box.
Great shot and a colorful bull dorado for Dave Martin who always seems to get a trophy fish every time he visits us from Utah.
Jason has another rooster off the surf. Great colors! The fish was released.
Dave Martin has another big boy rooster in the boat taken with live bait before the photo and release.
The week started well-enough.
We were catching fish. The marlin were still blowing up nicely to the point of being bothersome. Big roosterfish were still prowling the beach. Our pangas were coming back daily with some nice dorado mixed with pargo, cabrilla, jacks, triggers, bonito and other species.
It was going pretty well.
Until Enrique showed up on the radar down the coast. We watched it slowly make its way up the coast. Initially, it started as a Category 1 hurricane. It did a bit of battering the mainland Mexico coast to the south of us with flooding, rains, high seas and big winds.
With each day it moved closer to us from the south. Some predictions had it missing us. Others had our directly in its path. By the time it reached us mid-week, it had lost much of it’s force and had diminished to a tropical storm.
Ultimately, it wasn’t too bad. We had to cancel the fishing for 3 days as big waves, gusting winds and intermittent rain hit us. But no real damage or flooding. It was just enough to keep everyone indoors and the boats on trailers or on the beach. We were lucky. We’ve seen what big hurricanes can do over the years.
However, we don’t know what the after-effects will be. At the time of this writing, we’re just getting back on the water. Normally, it takes a few days for the waters to settle down again. It takes a few days for the water to clear up. It takes a few days for the fish to get back on track. It all depends on how much the winds and water-run-off affected the water.
We’ll just have to see. The week looks like we could still be in for a bit of wind on the backside of the storm.
By the way, not as many…in fact NONE…no marlin photos this week compared to the previous week. There’s several reasons for that. The marlin were biting pretty crazy again, but for one, pretty much all the fish got released and just no one really took photos. Or, the marlin broke off and no one took photos! But, we definitely had marlin swimming around again this week…at least before the storm came through.
PEZ GRINGO GROUP
This group of our amigos has been coming to see us for about 20 years. All the do is fish hard for roosterfish. And they DO know how to fish ’em. This year, only 3 of them made the trip. Donnie Willson, Ron Burgess and Dave Lester. All of them are from Temecula CA.
Several years ago, they caught and released one rooster that many observers theorized would have broken the 114-pound world record.
This year…
Over 4 days, they caught AND RELEASED 16 roosterfish. Three guys…
In other years, they have caught more roosters. However, as they told me, they told me they have never caught so many BIG roosterfish. Check out the photos of some of their fish. I think their smallest fish were in the 40-pound class. Their largest…maybe around the 100-pound mark.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report Week of May 23-31, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Troy Kuzminsky really wanted a roosterfish! Just off the rocks he pulled this beauty. The fish was released! Troy is from Washington!
First-timer Dave Bundy fishing with our Arizona amigo, Rick Kasper found the dorado schools north of La Paz around Punta Coyote.
Maybe a new IGFA World Record for Gama Morales! Officially weighed on a certified scale at Tailhunter at 46-pounds besting the current 2007 record of 45 pounds. See more information below! Taken in the same area…south end of Cerralvo Island.
Lots of “beasty” fish, lately! Wow. This hog dog-tooth snapper was caught by Clayton Cersonsky from Austin TX on live bait outside of Bahia Muertos. That’s Gary Wagner owner of Rancho Costa there in the bay.
A pretty picture! Colorado in the house with a pair of legit dorado caught north of La Paz. That’s Dr. Giani Checa and his amigo Dan Le.
I’m sure he can think of some great things to do with this nice cabrilla! Professional chef Preston Hix was visiting us for the first time from Florida.
You won’t find much dorado in Montana! Ken Miller has a beauty for this picture. Great photo, Ken!
Celebrating his graduation from Texas A & M in Wildlife, Quinn Mattson was with us 4 years ago after graduating from high school. Nice rack of fish with Captain Arcangel…pargo, cabrilla, snapper and pompano!
Fire Captain Mark Ferreira took some days off for his first visit to La Paz and shows off his first roosterfish caught and released near Punta Arenas.
This gal can fish! Always has big fish! Taylor Murphey from Lakewood CA has a nice early season wahoo. Cerralvo Island in the background!
This is Ted! He’s a funny guy and caught a bunch of roosterfish on spinning gear and had a blast. All fish released.
First day variety for Ricky Bacon and Pat Talbott at Bahia Muertos.
The right kind! They’re still around…the tough pargo liso! Duane Mattson from Texas with a big grin over a big fish!
We got so many good folks from Montana like Chuck Hinkle here who took this pretty bull dorado off Espirito Santo Island.
Lorena always has a great smile with her fish! Just off the rocks south of Bahia Muertos. Catch-and-release roosterfish!
One of the prettiest photos of the week. Our good amigo, Mike Schoder from Alaska…on the flyrod! His last day fishing and down to only 4 baits to chum got this awesome bull to take his fly! They ate a bunch of it at our Tailhunter Restaurant that night!
Captain Rogelio strains to lift the marlin on the gaff caught by Ron Baughman even though wife, Valerie gets in the photo! Great Colorado folks who had a spectacular fishing week (see more below). This fish was hooked on 30 pound test and swallowed the hook.
I’m gonna make William our new poster-child for Tailhunter. He never fails to take great photos with his fish like this rooster he hooked just off the surfline near Punta Arenas (in the background). The fish was released.
Great colors and big smile form Kyndall Hinkle who got in a few days fishing with us from Montana while Captain Raul looks on!
Flat waters and hungry fish like this bull dorado make for a great day. John Hamilton had alot of fun over 3 days. I think that’s Captain Boli’s hands…lending a hand for the good photo.
Great fun fish…rooster poses with Pat Talbott for a photos before getting returned to the water.
Matt Talbott is a tall fella and this dorado he caught outside La Paz Bay is almost as long!
Here we go…dorado make for some great colorful shots! Duane Mattson and Quinn Matson found the schools!
Another one on the flyrod! Another long-time Alaska amigo, John Daley rocked this rooster on the fly before releasing it.
I count five different species on the cutting table including pompano, a rainbow runner, cabrilla, snapper and pargo! Chuck Hinkle from Montana with son Jed who is actually a Montana State Senator!
Thumbs-up from Captain Joel with Steve Dietrich who make a last minute trip with friends when one of the party didn’t have a current passport.
Dr. Giani Checa has all the right colors and outfit for fishing roosterfish with Captain Jorge. Giani wins the best-dressed for the week! It’s a good look to go with a good roosterfish!
Jerry Hill…fun amigo! He’s got another dorado for the box! Really enjoyed him and his amigo, Johnny Hamilton. On their first trips to visit with us!
It was a good solid week on so many levels.
There continues to be an incredible amount of variety of species being caught as more warm water species move in like dorado, marlin, wahoo and tuna however, cooler water species like yellowtail, amberjack, pompano, and sierra continue to linger and are willing to bite.
I believe I counted 18 different species of fish caught this week.
Just as I think the waters have sufficiently warmed and we shouldn’t be catching the cooler water fish, species like the yellowtail, sierra, pompano and pargo continue to pop up. However, the clearest indication of the warming season is the big uptick in the dorado.
The bite started to kick in about mid-May. The fish had been in the area, but just weren’t quite ready to bite. This week, the area around Espirito Santo Island and in the channel between the north end of Cerralvo Island and Las Cruces/ Punta Gorda were filled with sargasso weed floating around. This produced excellent cover for baitfish like the flying fish and drew in hungry schools of dorado.
Using live bait, the dorado are normally smallish this time of year with a 10-pounder being typical. However, like so many other species we are finding in 2021, the dorado this year are healthy legit 15-25 pound fish with some larger 30-pound class fix mixed in . It has been a long time since we’ve seen this kind of abundance and size to our dorado. I think , like many other fish we are seeing, keeping everyone off the water last year because of Covid, really had an effect on letting these fish grow!
In addition, other warm water species also made their presence known. We got our first tuna this week of about 25 pounds and other fish were seen in the area but not quite ready to bite. We got our first marlin around Espirito Santo Island this week plus our first wahoo of the season all are warm-water indicators.
There’s still plenty of roosterfish around, but the size has diminished from the 80-100 pound bruisers we have been seeing. Most are in the 10-30 pound class right now. Alot of that has to do with their food source changing. The big fish like the large 12-18” ladyfish (sabalo), but the sabalo seems to have moved on and taken the larger sluggers with them, so we’re using the smaller sardines and that likely has much to do with the smaller fish.
The eclipse and full moon were a bit strange. Normally, a full moon doesn’t seem to affect us too badly. I was really worried about the lunar eclipse which was really something to see at 5 a.m. in the morning when we were launching our boats in the dark!
The eclipse had zero affect on the bite from what I could tell.
Not so the full moon which was a “blood full moon” and one of the largest of the year. The big luna really had a dramatic effect on the tides and currents and for about two days the fish just didn’t want to bite. We really had to work hard for the fish. However, as the moon diminished, the bite seemed to jump right back to where it had been.
One very remarkable note:
We might have a new IGFA all-tackle record!
Gama Morales with his big boy pargo liso (mullet snapper) that hit 46 pounds…one better than the current IGFA record of 45 pounds in 2007. Both caught at the south end of Cerralvo Island.
Gama Morales was trolling at the south end of Cerralvo Island near La Paz with a live caballito through a school of feeding bonito in about 60’ of water when he hung a huge pargo liso (mullet snapper). We brought the fish to our certified IGFA scale at Tailhunter and the fish weighed in at 46-pounds!
Yup! Our Tailhunter certified scale reads it right…46 POUNDS!!!!
We had to figure a place to hang and weigh such a big fish. So, we did it right in front of our taco window on the sidewalk at our Tailhunte Restaurant on the La Paz Malecon. It drew quite a crowd.
We needed help to lift it up, but now that all the official stuff is done and the crowds have left, Gama needs help to take it down! He said it would feed alot of folks!
The current record was set in 2007 again at Cerralvo Island with a fish that weighed 45-pounds. We will be submitting an application to the IGFA for a new all-tackle record. We’re pretty excited.
AND YES WE ALSO FISHED MAGDALENA BAY!
Captain Rigo took Valerie and Ron Baughman from Colorado for 2 days to fish the mangroves inside the bay for some shallow water light tackle action and they caught and released numerous species and fish. The grouper fishing was especially productive!
Leaving the docks in the morning.
First day!!! Wow…grouper, pargo, cabrilla, halibut!
Ron has a pargo for the fish box.
Tasty hard-fighting grouper pulled out from the mangrove roots and bushes (background) in the shallow waters of Mag Bay.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Bahia Muertos/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of April 5-12, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Great shot of Brenda Bovee with big smiles and a big yellowtail with Captain Pancho. Brenda came to see us from San Diego.
Taken on the troll, Jim finally got a yellowtail in the boat the last day and it’s a thick one.
More San Diego boys in the house! Mike Mauzy brought his buddies down for a day of fishing with us. Big yellowtail, again taken on the troll, this time on a Nomad lure on the way back from Cerralvo Island to Bahia Muertos as well as a tasty pargo. They were fishing with Captain Victor.
Keith and Mark from Washington with Captain Pancho took a nice box of yellows at the end of a slower day.
Nick and Brandy Wilks with Kim and Brett Kopchitz on the beach at Muertos with a nice day’s catch. Everyone is from Detroit.
Beautiful beach weather all-week for spring breakers and post Easter visitors with temps in the high 80’s and down to the 60’s at night. Actually, in the early mornings, it was rather chilly. All of us had sweatshirts and jackets on in the mornings and the fishing clients in shorts and t-shirts were laughing at us.
Despite the beach weather, it wasn’t always the best on the water.
Those problematic winter winds have been diminishing every week, but there are times when the winds dig their heels in and come roaring back every few days. Additionally, some days Las Arenas was calmer. Some days La Paz was calmer. It kept flip-flopping. If you were fishing with our Las Arenas fleet and you had a blustery day, the fishing was terrible to be honest. If you were fishing with our La Paz fleet, it would be calm and the fishing was much better.
The next day, it could totally flip-flop. Just a matter of being in the right spots fishing at the right time or the wrong spot at the wrong time.
Fortunately, most of our anglers fish several days and are flexible. Also, having fleets in both areas, it was pretty easy to flip folks back and forth depending on the wind forecasts. The biggest problem were the few days where the forecast said nothing about the winds and they roared up during fishing hours then just as quickly died down after a few hours.
Jim and Brenda Bovee, our San Diego amigos with yellowtail, jack crevalle, a big sierra and several tasty white bonito.
The other issue was with folks that were only fishing 1 day. No flexibility because of whatever…travel schedules…etc. so the weather was…what the weather was. Pot luck. Some did OK. Others, regretfully, not so much.
When the fish DID bite, the yellowtail were still the hot bite. Areas around Cerralvo Island were again productive especially the north and south ends of the islands plus the backside at Los Pilis. Fish were also found between Bahia Muertos and the Punta Arena lighthouse.
For our La Paz Fleet heading north to fish around the deeper drop-offs at Espirito Santo Island were the most productive especially on the eastern side of the island all the way up to the El Baja Seamount.
Interestingly the last few weeks yo-yo iron seems to produce more and bigger fish when it came to yellowtail fishing. However, this past week, it seemed that there were days when the fish were not interested at all in the jigs and would only eat live bait. Good size on these forkies…15-30 pound fish on the average.
Other species this week included both common bonito and the tastier white bonito plus a good bite of jack crevalle and rounded out with cabrilla, pargo, snapper, amberjack, sierra and even the occasional dorado. We’re seeing a number of wahoo, but they’re just not ready to bite. Could be any day as the waters warm up the deeper we get into the season.
BAHIA MAGDALENA REPORT
We had our first group of amigos head out to Bahia Magdalena to fish the mangroves around Lopez Mateos there on the Pacific Side. Two days of fishing with Captain Rigo produced a great variety of fish including halibut, spotted bay bass, pargo, triggerfish, croaker, snook and lots of corvina all on light tackle. Dr. Guy Nazareno and his daughters Bella and Nataly come with family friend, Verda Boyd, every year to whale watch and fish. Check out the photos!
Verda’s leopard grouper
Bella and Nataly with a table full of spotted bay bass.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Week of March 28-April 4, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
All the way from Detroit for one day of fishing and she made the most of it. Brandy Wilks and her husband Nick fished with Captain Victor and crushed the yellowtail and even a dorado in the box! They generously gifted all the fish to everyone too!
This is called a “good start” to 3 days of fishing. Eric and Mark.
Great shot of Captain Victor sticking the gaff for Kim Kopchitz from Michigan on one of several big yellowtail.
On the spinning rod, another fat yellowtail on a Rapala for Darrell Manginelli.
Captain Pancho with Mark Diegert and a feisty jack crevalle. Great tough fish on light tackle. The fish was released.
Lures like this little Rapala mackerel pattern were deadly on the cabrilla slow trolled over the rock as Darrell found out and took alot of cabrilla home with him.
Sheer joy! Mark Bonsack and Eric Deigert from Washington jigged up 6 big yellowtail before 8:30 a.m. Mark said they saw an 80-pound wahoo swim by but couldn’t get him to bite!
OH yea…some good eating there on the cutting board. Big cabrilla for Brad and Eric plus a nice amberjack.
The week started started slow with a return of those blustery wintry winds really tearing up the waters. Each week conditions get better, but winter still isn’t quite done with us and it kicks and screams from time-to-time.
Even when the winds cut out, the waters were still a mess. Temps had cooled and the cooler murkier water knocked down any kind of bite that we had.
However, as the week went on, things cleared up significantly with the yellowtail again returning to centerstage with fish up to 30 pounds eating live sardines, yo-yo iron, knife jigs as well as trolled Rapala-style lures.
The areas were spread from Punta Perrico and Bahia Muertos (Suenos) up to the Las Arenas lighthouse and across to Cerralvo Island where fish blew up at both the north and south ends of the island as well as on the backside at Pilis.
Cerralvo Island showing north point. Facing south. Las Arenas way in the distance haze. Pilis is about 1/3 down the left side (eastern side) of the island.
Wahoo were seen, but wouldn’t chew. However, big cabrilla, snapper, pargo, jack crevalle and lots of bonito rounded out some good solid action the latter part of the week. There was also a stray dorado or two (waters getting warmer) and some early amberjack.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for March 11-20, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Omar and Fay live in La Paz and took the afternoon to fish with Captain Pancho and had a good few hours on the water with nice-sized cabrilla and a trio of yellowtail using yo-yo jigs.
If the conditions are right, limits of slugger yellowtail were not uncommon. Jimmy got these at south point.
Our amigo..Jimmy Williams got out on a flat day before the winds and was able to make it over to Cerralvo Island and took a limit of yellowtail including some big-shouldered ones like this one that jumped on a live sardine.
Nothing but smiles for Paco. He’s taking home this yellowtail headed for the grill.
An uptick in the winds and chillier weather chased off alot of the local folks that were fishing earlier in the month. No question, there was much less traffic on the water. Not so many vacation anglers around, but many locals had been fishing getting in on the good yellowtail bite we’ve had over the last few weeks.
However, in those interim moments when winds slacked off, yellowtail to 25 pounds were still to be found…sometimes alot of them…in the usual hot spots around the backside of Cerralvo Island as well as south point of the island over the high spots. As well, fish were taken just outside of Bahia Muertos and ranging up towards the lighthouse at Punta Arenas following the beach to the north.
The fish took a combination of live sardines; slow trolled lures or yo-yo jigs. Lots of fish getting lost in the rocks. The strong fish need to be turned quickly to keep them from heading back to their structure.
On the windier days or when it’s difficult to get to the yellowtail spots, there’s some occasional dorado biting, but inshore along the shallows, especially over the reefs and rocks, there’s a decent bite of nice-sized cabrilla mixed with snapper, jacks, pargo and sierra.
Town is getting a little more crowded, but mostly just folks coming for Spring Break or Easter vacations. Not many fishermen visiting yet.
FIELD & STREAM
First issue 1899…a different time.
Just 35 cents in 1963!
…and 2014…times have changed!
We were recently interviewed by one of the most iconic outdoor publications, Field & Stream, which has been in print for over 100 years. It was pretty cool. The interview was published about a week ago. Here’s a link to the edition. Hope you enjoy it.
We were not able to do our usual shows these past 3 months because they were all cancelled. However, bookings have been coming in heavy to make reservations for this 2021 fishing season. Many dates are already sold out or your favorite captains have already been taken. Don’t miss out. Get in touch with us ASAP so we make sure we have you covered. You can write me directly at tailhunterfishinglapaz@gmail.com.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Feb. 9-16, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO FISHING REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
William McCarthy and Jimmy Williams had a banner day with big yellowtail and nice cabrilla on sardines on the backside of Cerralvo Island. Jimmy tells me they lost some larger yellowtail in the rocks!
Yeow? Tuna in February? Misael stuck this YFT not far off Bahia Muertos on a sardine.
William has one for the camera and the fish box.
This tuna estimated at 100 pounds landed at the north end of Cerralvo Island by commercial panga fishermen.
Headed for the dinner table, Christian got a couple of yellowtail as well as the big sierra.
For the second straight week, the winds diminished a bit. It was still windy, but at least there were a few days for folks to get on the water or if not for the whole day, at least for the mornings to squeeze in some fishing time before the winds came up.
With temperatures daytime in the low 70’s and mostly sunshine, conditions were not too bad and fishing was surprisingly decent.
Captain Efrens catch. Six legit yellowtail.
Yellowtail between 5 and 25 pounds were the main highlight with fish hitting sardines when available, but also yo-yo jigs worked over the rocks. Knife jigs were especially effective. Hotspots included the areas right outside Bahia Muertos around the point and up to Punta Perrico and Punta Arenas.
Hog yellowtail for our amigo, Jimmy.
As well, there were some big boys taken around the backside of Cerralvo Island on the days you could get across the channel. That same area was also holding some big cabrilla.
Nice variety for this time of year…sierra, yellowfin tuna and a yellowtail!
The big surprise was that tuna are in the area. Very unusual for this time of year. While yellowtail prefer cooler waters which are normal right now, tuna are generally warmer water fish. However, we’ve had reports of tuna moving fast here-and-there with the porpoise schools, but this week a commercial panga horsed in a 100-pounder at the north end of Cerralvo Island and there are some 15-30 pound fish mixed in with the yellowtail outside of Bahia de los Muertos.
Additionally, the fish boxes came back with a nice mix of the usual fish this time of year that included sierra, pargo, cabrilla, and white bonito.
Not many tourists at all or fishermen. Mostly locals fishing. Looks like winds might be kicking back up this week. We’ll keep you posted.
WHALE WATCHING SEASON
The dimished winds this past week also allowed us to get some folks out to Bahia Magdalena for some whale watching. John Sayre and his wife, from Florida got in two nice days with the whales. The whale migration usually lasts through March. Let us know and we’ll set you up!
LA PAZ NEWS
After being closed for quite some time, the authorities have re-opened both sides of the Malecon to foot traffic. The ocean/ beach side of the boulevard had been closed to prohibit gatherings and to promote social distancing. However, Covid cases are diminishing so for now, they have re-opened both sides of the street.
In response to the new CDC rules implemented Jan. 26th, covid testing labs are popping up everywhere. Many of the hotels in Cabo now offer the services and there is a facility now at Cabo Airport. Now, a facility has been set up a the La Paz Airport as well.
The requirements mandate a negative Covid test within 72 hours of your flight and is required for ALL INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT flying INTO the U.S. You do NOT need a test to fly out of the U.S. into Mexico. There are no quarantines involved.
The test takes about 15 minutes and you get results in about an hour. Cost is a minimal $22-24 dollars.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Jan. 26-Feb. 8, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Five for the cooler ready to be filleted! Drs. Beltran and Santiago took some time from their offices in La Paz to fish with us and caught these working the waters with yo-yo iron for these yellowtail.
Not a bad morning. Raul Chollet from La Ventana was out fishing with us and nailed these thick yellowtail just off Punta Perrico.
Mostly locals fishing right now and a great catch is to get into a school of tasty sierra. If you hit a spot, you can load up pretty fast! This one fell to the blue Rapala still stuck in the mouth.
Trophy fish on a dark purple Rapala trolled over th rocks. Raul with a big cabrilla and knowing Raul, every bit of this fish is gonna be part of dinner!
It was chilly and cold again this week but there were finally some opportunities to fish which has been rare the past weeks with lots of gusty winds. However, this past week, the winds let up for about 3 days or, at least didn’t start blowing until late. Since we’re really not having to go very far to get to fish right now, it at least allowed anglers to get in a few productive hours of fishing early before the winds kicked in.
Not many fishermen at all this time of the year. It’s mostly locals or captains fishing for their families.
However, literally within 20-50 years of the beach, there’s a good jag of yellowtail that have shown up near Punta Arenas near Punta Perrico where the old Hotel Las Arenas used to be. The fish are a nice hefty grade of 18-25 pound fish that are taking alot of guys into the rocks.
Sardines are working when you can get them, but it’s often difficult getting live bait because of the winds and the bait guys can’t get to the rocky or sandy areas where the bait usually holds out. Waves either scatter the bait or make it hard for the bait guys to get into the rocky areas which are treacherous.
When, there’s no sardines, the guys are using the yo-yo iron. It’s tiring work, but productive dropping the iron and lifting and reeling back to the boat. Alternatively, trolling lures like Rapalas and Yo-Zuris are also working and producing other species like sierra, jacks, cabrilla and barred pargo.
CDC and COVID TESTING
In case you hadn’t heard, as of Jan. 26th, the CDC has mandated that anyone traveling by plane into the U.S. must show they have had a negative Covid test within 72 hours of their trip. This only applies to air travel. You are NOT required to quarantine once you get into the U.S. although it has been suggested.
Nevertheless, the new rules sent everyone in the tourism industry from airlines to hotels and folks like us into a mad scramble. We were all just on the verge of rebounding after a difficult 2020.
However, the government and tourism boards made rapid adjustments.
Testing facilities have been set up at all international airports including Cabo, La Paz and Tijuana as well as others around the country. According to the Cabo Board of Tourism, all hotels and timeshare operations in Cabo San Lucas now offer testing services and more laboratories and testing facilities are popping up all over.
The test only takes 15 minutes and costs between $20-25 dollars. Results are returned within an hour and you receive either a printed result or get them online to show before you board your flights.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for Jan. 15-25, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST OF THE STORY
For the past 25 or so years, I’ve done these reports religiously almost every single week. I think I can only count about a dozen weekends that I missed and one of them was the weekend Jill and I got married 13 years ago when she told me to put away my computer that weekend.
It’s just that with covid happening and then alot of bad weather and no one really fishing, well…I hate sounding like a broken record although I know alot of folks look forward to getting the reports regularly.
I promise things will get better. I has to!
Winter doesn’t last forever and the warmer weather, water and big fish will show up. Like they always do!
They’ll get a handle on Covid too. I have to believe that and have some faith.
But…here you go…to be honest…
Not a whole lot to report. Opportunities to fish have been few and far between with very few anglers around and not many chances for anyone to fish. For almost two weeks it has been cold, windy, rough, rainy or wet. Or a combination of any two of those conditions. The thermometer has been all over the place with temps as low as the lower 30’s and as high as the high 60’s. It’s quite erratic.
In the small windows for opportunity have arisen, it’s mostly local captains or local residents. Mostly sustenance fishing to put something on the table or frig.
Sierra like this are great fun on light tackle and are incredible on the table cooked or a local favorite as ceviche. There’s some nice schools of sierra around La Paz right now.
Our amigo, Keith “Jimmy” Williams went out and caught a mess of sierra and I asked him for a photo I could use. I expected a typical fishing photo. Instead, he sends me this photo of his fish cooked at our Tailhunter Restaurant…which might be even better! Alot of good things going on here…sierra sauteed in garlic…crispy french fries…poblano chili en cream sauce…fresh tortillas…a shot of tequila…a Heineken…a bottle of Topo Chico. He’s got it going on full turbo! Thanks, Jimmy!
Most of the catch has been inshore as not too many folks want to venture very far when the waters are so rough and winds are blustery. It also makes it difficult to catch live bait. So, catches of cabrilla, snapper, common and white bonito, pargo and some nice-sized sierra have made up the majority of the catch.
CDC BIG NEWS – IMPORTANT FOR MEXICO TRAVELERS (MUST READ)
Big news dropped on us last week when the CDC announced that it will now require proof of a negative covid test to enter the U.S. by air. Alternatively, medical documentation that you have recovered from covid is also valid. Needless to say… It sent everyone from airlines to hotels to charter operations and anyone involved in tourism scrambling to find a solution to this since the new restrictions begin promptly on Jan. 26th.
As it turns out a number of hotels in Cabo San Lucas already have testing facilities and more are being set up in that city as well as other cities. The Mexican government is setting up facilities at Cabo San Lucas Airport, La Paz Airport as well as airports in Tijuana, Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta and others.
The test seems like it will only take about 15 minutes and results online in about an hour. Costs range average about $20-25 dollars with the government trying to obtain further discounts. They’re doing their best to make this as convenient and easy as possible, but ask that you arrive at the airport an extra hour earlier than normal.
For us in La Paz, we’ll keep you posted about facilities at La Paz Airport, but there are plans for some hotels to offer the test and in checking around the city, we found at least a half-dozen labs offering the tests. As this only applies to air travel at the moment, that means “international flights” so for many of you folks that arrive on Volaris from Tijuana, I don’t think any of this will apply to you since you will be returning through Tijuana and not FLYING back to the U.S.
This is a developing story and fluid issue.
As mentioned, this just dropped like a ton of bricks about a week ago. Most of our fishermen don’t even start showing up until April or May so many things could change as this goes into effect and Mexico steps up to meet the challenge of the vital tourism industry. Also, we can only hope that with new measures plus the vaccine, things will get under control.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Jan. 4-12, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Crazy variety for a few hours of morning fishing for Fernando, his brother and son. On the rack…dorado, big sierra, snapper, pargo liso and cabrilla.
They’re early! The big pargo liso (mullet snapper) normally don’t start schooling up until spring-time but they’re already here and hunkered in the rocks and reefs and will bust you up!
It’s January, but yes, those are wahoo on the cutting board along with dorado, cabrilla and tasty white bonito.
Some big sierra crusing around right now like this tasty fella caught by amigo, Gary Wagner, from his Rancho Costa there in Bahia Muertos.
Nothing wrong with these items. Tasty cabrilla (Mexican seabass) posed with Jason and Alisa..
Not many folks fishing post-holidays, but town is pretty busy with escapees from the colder weather in the U.S. and Canada. However, this contrary to the gusting winds normally associated with this time of year, there were some incredibly pretty days right out’ve a postcard this past week. Winds settled, skies cleared and day-time temps reached into the 70’s. We could not have asked for better weather and a great window to get on the water.
That being said, it allowed folks to get out in the bay to swim with the whalesharks finally. The shallow water just inside the bay has been holding 6-10 baby whalesharks to swim with, but often it’s too windy and choppy to find them.
With the fishing, it’s been confusing and mixed…in a good way!
Normally, this time of year, when we can get out, we’re hitting mostly cold-water species inshore because well, the waters are cooler and it’s often too rough to get too far out.
However, not only did anglers find the cooler water species like cabrilla, snapper and some unusually big sierra, but a bit crazy because they also hit dorado, white bonito, wahoo and even a few marlin were seen and hooked!
This is indicative of some warm water still holding over so maybe these species will stick around. It’s making for a great variety of fish. Also with abundant sardines for bait, the fish are ready to chew.
One noticeably event seems to be that the big pargo liso (mullet snapper) that we don’t see until later in the spring have already shown up and are schooling over the rocky areas like Cerralvo Island and Punta Perrico. These tough fish are really difficult to wrestle out’ve the rocks and can test both angler and his gear, but are spectacular fighters and great eating and look like giant goldfish.
Also, flights are now coming in directly from the United States to La Paz now for the first time in 14 years. American Airlines from Dallas and Phoenix has been bringing folks now for almost a month.
Nice to have American Airlines now flying directly from Phoenix and Dallas to La Paz. First time we’ve had direct flights in over a decade. No more long drives up from Cabo. The flights have been very popular since they started a month ago. Easy flights into the uncrowded La Paz Airport then it’s just a few minutes to your hotel.
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report for Week of Dec. 25, 2020 – Jan. 3, 2021
MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT
THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…
Find the right spot and there’s still some water water areas holding dorado between 5-15 pounds as waters get cooler.
An incredible experience to get in the water and snorkel with the whalesharks in La Paz Bay.
It’s been rather quiet and subdued this past week for the holidays. It still has been festive, but like much of the world, things are just at a lower key and lower volume. Most folks coming to town are not looking to fish. They’re just spending vacation time for the holidays and hoping for a little sunshine and and put their toes in the sand!
The glitch in that this week was that it was actually been a bit chilly along with the normal seasonal gusty winds from the north. In fact, it’s been that way for well over a week now. Daytime temperature struggling to get out’ve the 60’s. Night temps dropping to the crazy 40’s! Yes, even in Baja, it can get chilly.
Tourists are still in their shorts and t-shirts, but La Paz residents are talking about 2-3 blankets at night and folks are wearing long pants and jackets.
For fishing, there’s still some dorado around. Most 5-12 pound school-sized fish indicative of the probably the last patches of warm water still lingering around. Inshore, there’s a good smattering of snapper, jacks, seabass (cabrilla) and some barred pargo. For most folks simply looking for a day on the water and a bit of action, these fish are perfect and alot of fun. Plus provide some good fish to take to a local restaurant. Everyone is happy.
Honestly, most folks coming to town intent on some time on the water are mostly here for either swimming with the whalesharks in the bay or headed to a whale-watching trip.
The whalesharks in the bay are mostly 10-12’ juveniles in shallow water only minutes from the Malecon. The only problem is that if it’s windy and choppy it can be difficult to find them.
In the shallow waters of La Paz Bay, the whalesharks are usually 10-15′ long “babies”.
On the other hand, the official start of whale-watching season has started as the annual migration of grey whales has seen them starting to arrive over at Bahia Magdalena where they’ll enjoy the warm shallow water, breeding and calving before heading back north to the Bering Sea around March.
So, we’re booking trips now for the grey whales, swimming with the whalesharks and the occasional fisherman.
THE NO SHOW – NO SHOWS in 2021!
We will surely miss the packed aisles of friends this year!
Normally this time of year, we’re hitting the road beginning our 3 month road-tour to all the biggest and best fishing/hunting expos in the western U.S. With our Catlyn (our rescue cat); the booth, thousands of brochures and lots of winter clothes and tire chains; our road vehicle is packed floor-to-ceiling and right about now we’re on our way to our first show of the year at the Denver Convention Center…then followed the next week in Sacramento at the State Fairgrounds. Each week, a different show to see all of you!
We’ll see you for a cold one in La Paz in 2021!
In 2021, that’s not to be the case, unfortunately, as Covid restrictions have shut down all the shows. So for the first time in about 30 years, regretfully, we won’t be in our booth.
That just means, you’re all staying safe and you’ll have to contact us directly to book trips ( jonathan@tailhunter.com) and come visit us in La Paz!
Tailhunter Fish Report 